The present invention relates to the field of computer systems; particularly, the present invention relates to displaying a status and control function bar or window to enable access of user selected indicia to a computer system user.
Typically, a computer system contains a processor, a bus, and other peripheral devices. The processor is responsible for executing instructions using the data in the computer system. The bus is used by the processor and the peripheral devices for transferring information between one another. The information on the bus usually includes data, address and control signals. The peripheral devices comprise storage devices, input/output (I/O) devices, etc.
Computer systems also include information management systems that coordinate the display of information to the user. Currently, the art in computer display management provides the capability of displaying data in rectangular portions (commonly referred to as windows) of a display screen. Such information management systems include the Finder(trademark) interface of the computer systems manufactured by Apple Computer, Inc. of Cupertino, Calif. Controls are typically provided to resize and move windows within the confines of the physical display boundaries.
Windows may be used to display information regarding application programs, as well as information produced by system programs, that are run on the computer system. Many of these system and control programs provide status and control information and functionality. Some of the system control programs also provide options with respect to the information they provide and the functions they perform. These options can be accessed and/or selected by moving a cursor at a predetermined point in the window and xe2x80x9cclickingxe2x80x9d a mouse or performing requisite key strokes. Access to these programs may require locating the program (e.g., locating and entering a folder) before execution. The time necessary to access such programs may be unduly long. It is desirable to provide a less obtrusive manner of accessing such system and control programs.
The computer system is often capable of displaying multiple windows or data areas on the display screen at the same time. Windows may overlap each other. The information contained in the portion of the window that is overlapped is not visible. The window that is entirely visible to the computer user is typically the active window. Therefore, a program, such as a system or control program may be running, while another program displaying information in another window is selected as active and thereafter covers, partially or completely, the windows or data areas displayed by the system/control program. Sometimes the user may wish to have an unobstructed view of the system/control data area, regardless of the window selected as active (even when the windows overlap each other). Thus, it is desirable at times to have windows that are always visible to the user. However, it is also desirable to be able to eliminate that window at times based on the user""s requirements.
The present invention overcomes these problems by providing a status and control information display. The display of the present invention is in an easily accessible format. Also, the display may be configured to permanently display in a visible manner control and status indicia.
An interactive computer-controlled display system is described. In the present invention, the display system includes a processor, a data display screen, and a cursor control device for interactively positioning a cursor on the data display screen. The present invention also includes a window generator that generates and displays a window (e.g., a control strip) on a data display screen. In one embodiment, the window comprises a control and/or status window for display on the desktop of the computer system The window displays graphics depicting at least one display area of indicia. The individual data areas may be controlled through the use of controls and indicators in the window itself using cursor control keys.